PALM BAY, Fla., Aug. 24, 2008 — To decrease the likelihood of flooding along the St. Johns River system in Indian River and Brevard counties, the St. Johns River Water Management District began releasing water today through Canal 54 into the St. Sebastian River – a tributary of the Indian River Lagoon.

The discharge of water through the canal that runs between the two counties will help lower water levels in the rain-soaked upper basin of the St. Johns River as a result of the historic rainfall totals produced by Tropical Storm Fay. The releases are not expected to have an impact on lagoon water levels, which are directly impacted by tidal influences, particularly at the area of Sebastian Inlet.

The District is releasing water through a control structure northeast of the St. Johns Water Management Area (WMA) — also known as the Stick Marsh — west of Fellsmere. The release began this afternoon and could continue for one week or longer. As part of its efforts to manage flood waters, the District also has been making normal discharges to the north into the St. Johns River.

The Upper St. Johns River Basin Project, which encompasses 200,000 acres in western Brevard and Indian River counties, continues to work as designed and continues to retain a significant volume of rainfall, runoff and pumped water from surrounding residential and agricultural areas.

“The Upper St. Johns River Basin Project has greatly increased flood protection in Brevard and Indian River counties,” said Jeff Elledge, director of the District’s Department of Water Resources. “As a result, we have not had to release water into the lagoon for four years. Right now, the system is saturated and a release is the prudent thing to do.”

Before the upper basin restoration work began 20 years ago, the District would often release large volumes of water through Canal 54. Designed to store large volumes of floodwater, the project has enabled the District to discharge water only in extreme situations. The last major release of water through Canal 54 was in September 2004 due to high water levels resulting from Hurricane Jeanne.

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